Alamogordo man killed by Union Pacific train

This photo taken by a witness at the scene captures the pickup truck that was struck by a train Friday morning on Taylor Ranch Road near U.S. Highway 54 South. The driver of the truck, a 60-year-old Alamogordo man, was killed.

A 60-year-old Alamogordo man was killed instantly after he failed to stop for an oncoming Union Pacific train while he drove his company pickup truck across the railroad tracks at Taylor Ranch Road south of town, a state police spokesman said.

Davis said Barajas was driving a white 2011 Ford Home Service Contractors company pickup truck east on Taylor Ranch Road from U.S. Highway 54 South.

"The southbound train was traveling at 63 mph," he said. "We got that from the conductor. (The conductor) approached the Taylor Ranch Road intersection. He saw a Home Service Contractors pickup truck heading down Taylor Ranch Road. He could see the driver wasn't looking. He hit his horn and he saw the driver turn and look at him right before impact. Barajas was going to a job somewhere on Taylor Ranch Road because a coworker came looking for him."

Union Pacific spokesman Aaron Hunt said there were no injuries to the train crew, but the driver of the vehicle was declared dead at the scene.

It takes a 6,000 ton train traveling at 55 mph more than one mile, or 18 football fields, to come to a complete stop. For an automobile traveling 55 mph, it takes only 200 feet. The railroad speed limit for the tracks along U.S. Highway 54 is 70 mph.

According to a Daily News article published Dec. 1, 2012, there was one train-vehicle accident north of Tularosa. The driver was able to drive away with minimal damage to the vehicle.

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The driver was also not injured, according to the article.

Operation Lifesaver was started in 1972 when the average number of collisions at U.S. highway-rail grade crossing accidents had risen above 12,000 incidents annually, according to Operation Lifesaver's website.

Operation Lifesaver conducts a yearly presentation to encourage drivers to "Look, Listen and Live" in which drivers should stop at railroad crossing before proceeding across the intersection.

Davis said he believes Barajas was concentrating on what he was going to do. He said the accident was attributed to driver inattentiveness.

"Barajas just wasn't paying attention when he hit that intersection," he said. "Alcohol was not a factor in the accident. Barajas' driving record was clear. He was just going to work. That particular intersection, it's got the railroad crossing signs and the yield sign. There are no crossing barriers."

Davis said he believes the incident should serve as a warning for other drivers.

"They need to stop," he said. "Just like on school buses, this vehicle stops at all railroad crossings. People need to stop because people get too intent on what they're doing with everything in their lives. They're thinking about everything but driving. A train is the last thing they're thinking about."

Davis said drivers tend to get accustomed to their surroundings via habit, thus relaxing their driving skills.

"They assume there's no train," he said, "then this happens. It's like a stop sign near a person's house. They pull up to the stop sign every morning for the last 10 years and roll through it because there's never anybody there, then one morning there's somebody there. They get comfortable in their environment. They don't need to get comfortable in critical times. When they're driving a vehicle, they need to be driving."

Reach Duane Barbati at dbarbati@alamogordonews.com Follow him on Twitter @DuaneBarbati

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